


Don´t Judge a Coach by her Cover

by VMfan



Category: Figure Skating RPF
Genre: Coach tessa, Developing Relationship, F/M, Scott/kaitlyn, coach/student
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2019-10-05 03:31:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17317259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VMfan/pseuds/VMfan
Summary: Tessa Virtue, 29 is a simple girl from London, Ont. living out her dream as a ice dance coach, coaching along side Marie-France and Patrice in Montreal.When called into the office to be given the opportunity to coach Olympic and world champions Scott Moir and his Partner Kaitlyn Weave she is beyond ecstatic. However, Scott is fuming and not happy at all. After arguing and discussing they decide to give it a try out. Will they be able to work it out and work towards the comeback and achieve the goals?And what happens when feelings start to develop between two of the team?





	1. A warm hello

**Author's Note:**

> In this fic Scott and Kaitlyn are basically equivalent to T&S in real life and a lot of the events will be based off the real life story. I am no expert in the figure skating world so forgive me if some stuff is ever unrealistic or wouldn´t really make sense.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it!

When Marie-France and Patrice receive the call during the spring of 2016 they know exactly what they are doing. But when Tessa Virtue, an ice dance coach at Gadbois is called to the bosses office in midst of one of her sessions with upcoming junior skaters, she has no idea what to expect.

Tessa Virtue, a London, Ontario native, who now lives in Montreal, grew up being taught how to skate by her older sister Jordan. Jordan participated in ice dance, but an injury caused her to stop after winning the junior Canadian title with her partner. Tessa herself never competed but always trained in the sport. She had a partner and was quite good, but never took it to the competitive level. However, when her partner decided to quit when they were in their early teens, Tessa decided to continue skating and take part in a junior programme that would reward her with a coaching license. From there on, Tessa spent her teen years coaching smaller children and gained massive amounts of experience. Some of her teams made major strides in the national junior competitions but none of them ever made it any bigger than that. Tessa didn´t care though. She loved her job and loved being surrounded by little skaters. She decided to forgo the chance to study at college and continued coaching. She took on more advanced teams, some that were looking to make strides in the junior world and soon enough the results were coming in. Her teams were reaching the podiums at each competition and soon started to compete on the international level. However, once they reached that stage, they usually moved out of London to attend the bigger and better equipped skating schools in Toronto, Montreal or Vancouver.

In the spring of 2015, Tessa was attending a teacher training course by Skate Canada. This is where she first met Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon and they hit it off right away. A couple months later, in autumn, Tessa was packing her life up and moving to Montreal to coach full time. Now she wasn´t going to be coaching juniors only anymore, she was going to be coaching world champions and big names in the game. The move wasn´t easy. When she had originally told her boyfriend of 3 years Matt about the offer, he was excited for her. But when he started telling her that she wasn´t the youngest anymore, even though she was only 26, and that he wanted her to stay so they could start a family, she knew she was going to have to break it off with him. They weren´t at the same point in their lives and they wanted different things. He had already had success in his career and she hadn´t and now that the opportunity had come about for her to have some, she sure as hell wasn´t going to turn it down for someone that she thought she loved but that didn´t support her. So, she broke things off with him, much to her family´s dismay and made the move to Montreal. And till now hasn´t regretted it a single second.

Tessa´s phone starts vibrating in her pocket during her session with Kaitlyn and Jean-Luc. She has been working with them for the first time this week and it´s been going great. It´s her first professional team and whilst the season hasn´t begun yet, she has enjoyed being able to go over basic elements like stroking with them. “Quick water break guys” she calls out to them before attending to her vibrating phone. She´s confused when she sees that Marie-France is calling her. “Hey Marie” “Hey Tess, ma Cherie, can you please come to the office, Patch and I need to talk to you” “Yeah sure, I´ll be up in five minutes.” Confused she hangs up. Had she done something wrong? Were they going to fire her? The only way to find out was to go up. She skates over to Kaitlyn and Jean-Luc. “Marie and Patch need me in the office quickly. Hope it won´t be too long, until then just continue what we were just doing and I´ll be back as soon as possible” she tells them before giving Kaitlyn a squeeze to the shoulder and skating towards the exit.

She takes off her skates and throws on her trainers before making the small journey up the flight of stairs to the office and knocking on the door. She waits till Marie-France opens it. “Hey Tess” she greets her, “come on in.” Tessa enters the room and sees Patrice sitting behind his desk facing her and two people, a man and a woman, with their backs towards her. When the door closes with a quiet thud, the two people slowly start to turn towards her and Tessa can´t believe her eyes. Sitting in front of her are Olympic and world champion ice dancers Scott Moir and his long-time partner Kaitlyn Weaver. Tessa had idolized the two for years and was fascinated by their work. She remembers watching them win gold in Vancouver and silver in Sochi and after that announcing that they were going to take a break from skating. Tessa was stunned at the sight but couldn´t figure out what they were doing here and moreover why she was in an office with her bosses and them.

Patch clears his throat, “Scott, Kaitlyn, I would like you to meet Tessa Virtue one of our head coaches. Tess, this is Scott and Kaitlyn, but I guess you already know that” Scott and Kaitlyn stood up and the three greeted each other and exchanged pleasantries. Tessa tried to stay as professional as possible but couldn´t help let “I´m a huge fan of your work slip” when she shook hands with Scott. “Now Tess, I guess you´re probably wondering why we called you up here” Patch started and Tessa replied “Yeah, would be kind of nice to know. I told Kaitlyn and Jean-Luc I wouldn´t be long. We still have some work to do.” “Well ma Cherie, don´t worry about Kait and Jean-Luc. Romain (another coach) will be working with them from now on” Marie-France cut in, leaving Tessa with a puzzled look on her face. “Tess, we´d like you to meet your new students and Scott and Kaitlyn we´d like for you to meet your new coach” she continued gesturing between Tessa and Scott and Kaitlyn.

Nobody said anything. Tessa was startled. She couldn´t believe what she had just heard. She was going to coach Olympic and world champions and not to mention the best ice dance pair the world had ever seen. She was drawn back to reality when Scott broke the silence, “what!” he exclaimed in a not so quiet tone. “What do you mean she´s going to be our coach?” he asked again. “Look Scott, Kaitlyn, I know you came here to be trained by us, and we really appreciate that and don´t get this wrong, we will coach you too, but we have so many other students, that we thought it would be a good idea to get you a coach that would be fully focused on you two. We will continuously communicate and help out but we have to look after the others too. We know it´s not what you were ideally looking for, but it is all we can offer at the moment” Marie tried to explain. Tessa could see Scott tense up clench his jaw. From watching and reading about them, he knew he had quite the temper and knew this was one thing he did when something was irritating him. Kaitlyn was next to talk, “As you said it´s not what we wanted, but we have to accept what you can offer. We know you´re busy with the others but really hope that we will also work with you guys. That´s one of the reasons we chose Montreal for our comeback, to work with you.” Tessa studied Kaitlyn while she spoke. She had always been a fan of her class and style and enjoyed listening to the eloquent way she was able to speak. Marie placed a hand on Kaitlyn´s shoulder “And we really appreciate that. Like Patch said, we will still be working with you. We will work on choreography together and technical things, so we will work with you. It´s just since we have so many others we want to ensure that you always have a coach that is able to work with you. And we have selected only the very best for that job.” Marie smiled reassuringly at Tessa. Tessa looked back over at Scott. His jaw was still clenched and Tessa could sense he was going to blow pretty soon.

Scott stood up angrily and nearly pushed his chair over. He ran his hand through his hair “look, no offense” he said looking at Tessa, “but what do you mean the very best. I´ve never even heard of a Tessa Virtue, and especially not in the skating world. What success has she had with her teams? Has she even won any titles or so?” Tessa was shocked at his outburst. She had worked hard and long to be where she was coaching today and it hurt her when someone talked about her like that. Kaitlyn intervened “ Scott that´s enough” she said in a rough tone before looking at Tessa “I´m really sorry” Tessa waved her off, indicating that it was ok, even though it certainly wasn´t. “I understand your idea Marie and Patch and I say we should give it a try. I´m sure you know what you are doing trusting Tessa with us and we trust you, don´t we Scott” she threw at him. Scott only scoffed.  “Thank you for your trust Kaitlyn. Believe us, we only want the best for you and feel like Tessa is going to be able to help you shape your comeback the way you want it, and with the outcome you want. I say we meet back here tomorrow at 10:00 to try it out, ok?” Patrice asked. “That´s fine with us” Kaitlyn replied for her and Scott, “Tess?” Marie asked “Yeah, sure, I look forward to it” she smiled, earning a smile back from Kaitlyn and another scoff from Scott. Tessa didn´t know what his deal was, but she was going to find out soon she thought to herself.

“Ok, then we´ll see everyone back here at ten tomorrow. Anything else will be discussed after the try out, unless there is something urgent” Patrice questioned everyone. “Yeah, could I speak with you and Marie alone quickly” Scott said from the back of his office, with a hint of anger in his voice. “Sure Scott. Kaitlyn and Tess maybe you could get to know each other a bit whilst you wait” Marie suggested. “Yeah sure” they replied in unison before stepping out of the office to allow Scott, Marie and Patrice some privacy. They sat down on the sofa outside the office. Tessa was just about to say something when she hears Scott´s voice erupt loudly inside the office.

“What the heck guys!” he yells, “when we called and said we wanted to work with you, you said it wouldn´t be a problem and now you want us to come and skate here but not with you but with some cheap-ass skate Canada coach who nobody in this world has ever heard of. That´s just fucked up!” Then there was silence. Tessa could hear Marie and Patrice quietly try and talk to Scott but she couldn´t make out what they were saying. Tessa was just stunned about what she had just heard Scott Moir say about her. It hit her right in the heart and she could feel the tears starting to slowly form at the corners of her eyes. “Oh my god, I am so sorry Tessa” Kaitlyn said wrapping an arm around Tessa´s shoulder. “It´s fine” Tessa said in a wobbly voice. Kaitlyn caught on to her emotions “I am so sorry, please don´t cry. I don´t know what has gotten into him. I know this isn´t what we wanted but he hasn´t even given you a try, I don´t know what to say.” “Like I said, it´s ok. I know I am not Marie or Patrice and those were the ones you wanted to work with, but I am definitely not some cheap-ass Skate Canada coach” Tessa said firmly. “No you´re not. I trust Marie and Patch and trust that they know who they are asking to coach us. It´s not fair of him to judge you when we haven´t even seen you skate or tried working with you. I am so, so sorry” Kaitlyn couldn´t express how sorry and embarrassed she was by her skating partner.

Tessa looked at her watch. Her session with Kaitlyn and Jean-Luc was over and she had the rest of the day off. She knew the ice would be clear for the next hour or so and it was the only way to clear her mind. “Look Kaitlyn, I know this isn´t on you but in the end you guys need to find a coach that both of you can agree on. And if that isn´t me fine, but you haven´t even given it a try. I know it´s not your fault, but honestly, I would have expected a bit more class and grace from Scott Moir. But I guess he doesn´t just act on the ice but also in the interviews he gives.” Tessa looked at Kaitlyn who was stunned by what she had just heard. But Kaitlyn couldn´t speak, she could tell Tessa was hurt but she didn´t know what to say to her. “If you still want to try, I´ll be here at 10:00 tomorrow but maybe you should try talking to Scott again about the real reasons for your comeback. Because if it´s just about who´s training you, I don´t believe you´re in it for the right reasons” and with that Tessa left and went down to the ice to lace up her skates and clear her mind.

Kaitlyn was left stunned on the couch. Tessa´s last words really stuck in her mind but it also made her smile because it proved to her that although Tessa was hurt by Scott´s words, she was willing to give it a try. Kaitlyn knew she had unfinished business with Scott and contemplated just waiting till he emerged from the office but knew that she wanted to show their long-time mentors that she trusted them. So she got up off the sofa and burst into the office “What the actual hell Scott!” she yelled, startling not only Scott but also Marie and Patrice in the process. “What is going on in your mind to treat someone, that you don´t even know yet, the way you just did. You´re acting completely out of line!” Scott was stunned by his partner´s outburst. There were only one or two other occasions where he had seen her act like this. “How are you fine with this?” he yelled back “when we discussed coming back, we both agreed we wanted to work with Marie and Patch. And that is not the case anymore!” Kaitlyn was fuming at this point “Look Scott, I get it, it´s not what we wanted but if that is the determining factor that will decide over whether or not we go through with our comeback, then we might be in it for the wrong reasons” she replied.

“What!” Scott was startled, “what makes you think that. We agreed to this” “Yes, we agreed to this. And what makes me think that you ask. Tessa Virtue” “What does she have to do with this” he asked confused and angry. “Tessa, who by the way is very upset thanks to you, told me, before she left, that if we were only going to comeback if we were working with Marie and Patch, that she thinks we´re not coming back for the right reasons. And to be honest, she analysed the situation and us in within 5 minutes of seeing us and not even knowing us, and if that isn´t an amazing quality to have in a coach, then I don´t know what is. So I suggest that if you ever want to have the chance to skate competitively with me again, that you show up here tomorrow before ten, apologize to Tessa, Marie and Patrice and actively take part in the try out. Because if you don´t, I  believe that we aren´t here for the same reasons and that our partnership may fall apart because of this” Kaitlyn snapped and said goodbye to Marie and Patrice, leaving the office and making her way out of the rink, to get back to the hotel her and Scott were staying at.

She did however, quickly stop to watch Tessa skate for a couple of minutes before leaving the building with a smile on her face. She liked Tessa and was intrigued to see how she would function as a coach. From what Kaitlyn could tell already, she was pretty fantastic. Not only had she remained somewhat calm during the whole fiasco, but she had also asked the perfect question at the right time. And her skating looked absolutely flawless. And by the way she talked to Kaitlyn whilst Scott was blowing off steam in the office, she could sense, that she was exactly what they needed in their team. Kaitlyn had made up her mind, but now it was up to her partner and that wasn´t going to be easy.

Once back at the hotel she shot him a quick text.

_I better see your ass at the rink before 10 tomorrow Moir, or there won´t be a comeback or anymore skating together, OK?!_

“Oh tomorrow could be interesting if has the dignity to show up” Kaitlyn says to herself before stepping in the shower and preparing for the try out tomorrow.


	2. The Try out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Does Scott show up?

Tessa is at the rink around 8 the next morning. Last night after she had gone home, Marie-France and Patrice had called her to reassure her that they knew exactly what they were doing by entrusting the couple into her hands. They told her they knew she was ready for it and that she would be able to do an amazing job with them. That had given Tessa some reassurance and she was able to catch a few hours of sleep. Nonetheless, she was nervous if Scott was even going to turn up after the tantrum he threw yesterday. She had arrive early to the rink in the morning to inform her other teams about the new situation, but ensured them that she would still be around for them if they ever needed any help. Then she put her skates on and started warming up for the hopefully exciting day ahead of her.

Whilst cooling down from her warm up, Tessa looked at her watch to see that it was already 9:30. She skated one more lap before heading towards the exit. She exited the ice and sat down in the bleachers to switch to her trainers. It wasn´t until she sat back up after tying her shoe that she noticed that there was somebody standing in front of her. She looked up at him and was shocked to realize that in front of her was none other than Scott Moir. The Scott Moir that had thrown a tantrum yesterday about her coaching her and the Scott Moir who she had not expected to show up today. Although Tessa had made her peace with the situation, she still felt the anger boil up in her when she spoke, “Can I help you?” she asked in what came off as a quiet harsh tone she realized. Scott sat down next to her before he began to speak, “Look Tessa, I want to apologize for my behaviour and actions towards you yesterday. I was completely out of line and should not have let that happen. It was completely unfair of me to judge you without even knowing anything about you, yet alone having seen you coach.” Tessa looked up at him for the first time and saw that he was looking directly into her eyes. She caught his eyes and stared at them. _God damn those eyes are something_ she thought to herself. She studied his face before he spoke again. “Marie, Patrice and Kaitlyn gave me a hard time yesterday already and I really hope that you can understand how sorry I am. I am so, so sorry and I hope that there is the possibility that you´ll forgive me someday and that you are still willing to work with us, because I think this could be a great partnership. I really am sorry” he finished with a smile on his face but also in his eyes. Tessa couldn´t stop thinking about how gorgeous he was but quickly figured she should stop creeping and actually reply.

“I think I can forgive you and accept your apology under one condition.” Scott looked at her puzzled and she could read the question off of his face. “Tell me why you think this could be a great partnership even though yesterday you were adamant about not having me train you.”

Scott sighed, “First off all thank you for accepting my apology. And to answer your question, when you left, Kaitlyn came back into the office and yelled at me for being such an ass. And then she mentioned something you had said and it really made me think and no coach has ever done that. She said you said, that if I weren´t willing to be trained by you and insisted on it being Marie and Patch, that I was in this comeback for the wrong reasons. And that really made me consider it all. And when I say all, I mean it. I went home and really thought about why I wanted to comeback, why we wanted this but also why I had done it all before. And I came to the conclusion that it is my love and passion for skating. Nothing in life has given me more joy than skating with Kaitlyn. But and during our time away from the competitive side of the sport, I really felt the loss of that joy in my life. The joys of creating and expressing and I couldn´t get this nagging feeling out of me, that we had more in us, that we hadn´t reached our complete potential yet and that with the right environment we could set out to achieve the dream that we had already once achieved. This comeback is all about rediscovering my love for skating and being close to Kaitlyn again. We lost each other a bit after Sochi and it made both of us realize how special our relationship is. It´s not that I have lost my love for skating but towards the end, training in Canton took a bit of that love away and I want to find it again. So yeah that and winning the Olympics is what this comeback is about. We want to do it for us, but I also want to do it for her. She has been my everything during the past 19 years and I want to give her the possibility to reach her dream again. There´s nothing I wouldn´t do for her.

None of my coaches have ever analysed a situation so quickly, and that´s when I knew that if I let this opportunity go to waste, that I would not only lose my partner, my friends but that I would probably lose myself and possibly my life and that´s not what I want.” Scott had been staring at the ground the whole time and Tessa had noticed he was nervous telling her this. It had touched Tessa and she wanted to push further on some of the things he had said but knew that this was enough for her to know that he was in it. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. “Wow, umm.. that´s not what I expected after yesterday, but thank you Scott. Thank you for sharing that with me and I hope you know that I appreciate it. I´m going to be honest, I have a few questions about what you said, but I´m going to leave those for now and hope that I can figure them out in the future, if you can stick it out with me for that long, cause from what I gather you really want this and that means, there is no way but having me coach you” she told him and knew that she was teasing him a bit. Scott looked a bit shocked, “Tess, like I said, I really am sorry, I-” Tessa cut him off, “Scott, I know, I was just teasing. I know how serious this is, but that doesn´t mean that we can´t have any fun, eh?” Scott chuckled slightly, “I like the way you think and before I forget it” he reached next to him and presented a Tim Horton´s cup “I brought you an apology drink. I didn´t want to take the risk and get a wrong coffee so I went with something every Canadian loves, hot chocolate” he smiled and extended the drink towards Tessa, who accepted it gratefully, “Thanks Scott, that really wasn´t necessary and although I do love coffee, hot chocolate and chocolate milk are my all-time favourites.” They watched the rink in silence for a couple minutes before Tessa checked her watch and indicated that they should probably go to the lobby to meet with Kaitlyn.

When they get to the lobby, they see Kaitlyn in conversation with Marie and Patrice. As the three hear Tessa and Scott approaching they shift their attention towards them. “I see that you two have talked” Marie raises an eyebrow. “Yes,” Scott says confidently, “I apologized and explained myself and am ready to give this a try.” Patrice looks at Tessa and she can read from his eyes, that he wants confirmation from her too. “I have accepted his apology for now and think that we can leave what happened yesterday in the past and set our sights on the future,” Tessa smiled. “Oh thank god” Kaitlyn exclaims before suggesting that they better get started. The three start walking back towards the rink but before Scott and Kaitlyn dive into the dressing rooms Tessa stops them. “Where do you guys think you are going?” she asks. Confused, Scott and Kaitlyn look at each other before Scott answers, “to go get our skates on and get ready for training.” “Um.. no you´re not buddy” Tessa says, “we´re going to start with a bit of off-ice training first. So follow me.”

They enter an empty dance studio and Tessa sits down on the floor in the centre and gestures Scott and Kaitlyn to do the same. “So you´re probably wondering why we are here and not out on the ice, but I thought it was important for me to get to know you guys a bit better so I can start figuring out what needs to be done to complete your ultimate goal. So Kaitlyn I´m going to start with you because I already know Scott´s answer to the question. What are your reasons for this comeback?”

Kaitlyn thinks for a couple of minutes before starting to answer Tessa´s question, “My love for skating, for skating with Scott and the feeling of not being completely satisfied with the way things went in 2014 is what this comeback is for. Skating has been everything for me in my life and it has brought me the greatest memories and friends but already before and especially after Sochi, I felt that I was losing my connection with skating and then taking the two seasons off left me with the feeling of not being done. I felt that we still hadn´t explored out complete potential and that with the right environment we could find that joy and love again for skating whilst reaching our full potential and fulfilling our dream of winning the Olympics one more time. And Scott is also another reason. When we talked about it, we agreed we were doing this for us but I also want to do it for him, to help him reach that goal of his because he has helped me reach so many of mine before. So yeah, that´s what all this is about,” she finishes with a deep breath. Both Tessa and Scott are quiet but she can see tears forming at Scott´s eyes. It isn´t long before he wraps her up in a hug. “Well, good to know that you and Scott are in sync when it comes to your intentions,” Tessa smiled.

They continue their off-ice session with further questions and after an hour Tessa feels like she knows enough about them for now and sends them to get ready for the ice. Tessa watches them both from the boards for a while, whilst they warm up and can´t help but marvel at their skating skills and Scott´s incredible good looks. The thoughts about Scott keep creeping into her mind but she has little or no time to contemplate them because of the job at hand. Tessa works on a bit of technique with them as well as on their lifts before having them show her pieces from some of their show programs that they will be performing during the upcoming stars on ice. She helps them adjust what needs to be adjusted before calling them over to the boards after around 4 hours of training. They meet her at the boards with smiles on their faces.

“I think that´s enough for now. I really love how you´ve put together the show piece and I´m sure the fans are going to love it. I have to say I really enjoyed working with you guys today, even though some of us had a rough start, it really worked out. I know you´re going to need some time to think about everything, so I´m going to end our try out here and let you guys have a couple of days to think about it. You two let Marie and Patch know your decision, and I hope to see you around. It was my pleasure,” Tessa finished sincerely. Kaitlyn pulls her in for a hug thanking her for her time and telling her how much they enjoyed it before skating off quickly to use the bathroom, leaving Tessa and Scott. They just stand there and stare at each other for a moment. Scott clears his throat, “Again, I am really sorry for yesterday and I can only agree with what Kaitlyn said, it was a really great and fun try out Tess.” And before Tessa can react, he´s wrapped his arms around her waist and pulls her in for a hug. Tessa wraps her arms around his neck and rests her temple against his. She faintly hears him whisper “thank you” before feeling his lips place a quick, soft kiss to her cheek bone before pulling away. Tessa hopes he doesn´t notice her blush and then before she knows it, he´s slipped off the ice and is walking towards the dressing room.

Just as he is about to enter the room, he catches her eyes one last time, “I’ll see you around Tessa Virtue,” he says and winks at her before disappearing in the changing room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it.
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated! :)


	3. Going somewhere

The next few days Tessa resumes her normal coaching duties at the rink and starts helping Marie choreograph a couple of routines for some of the couples training at the rink. She doesn´t pester Marie or Patrice with the question if Scott and Kaitlyn had given notice, but the question is present in her mind nearly 24/7. Personally she felt that the try out had gone really well and that she would be able to create magical programmes for Scott and Kaitlyn if they did decide to work with her, but she really couldn´t predict whether or not they would pick her as their coach.

Tessa takes a couple days off whilst most couples are on holiday or touring to drive back home and visit her mom and sister in London. She thinks it can´t get any better than sleeping in, meeting old friends and spending time with her family but then it does. She´s lounging on the sofa with Jordan watching a movie on a non-descript Wednesday in the late afternoon when her phone starts ringing. She sees Patch´s name flash on the screen and picks up immediately.

“Hey Patrice, how are you doing?”

“Tessa, I am well I hope you are too. I have you on speaker here with Marie cause we have some news for you.”

“Sure that´s fine, what´s going on?” Jordan studies her puzzled face. Tessa hadn´t told her mom or Jordan that she had had a try-out with Scott and Kaitlyn since it wasn´t sure at the time.

“Well,” Marie started, “We received a call from Scott and Kaitlyn this morning and they have decided that they would like to start training here in Montreal with you in the summer.” Tessa is stunned and her jaw drops to the floor. She is completely at loss for words and doesn´t know what to answer Marie. She hears a chuckle on the other end of the line.

“Tess, ma Cherie, are you still there?” Patch asks her.

“Uhh… yeah, I just don´t know what to say. This is a dream but I didn´t know if they would pick me. I´m just shocked”

“Awww, Tessa. Patrice and I knew, without a doubt, that they would be moving here as soon as they got off the ice with you last week. We could see it their faces. They were so excited and happy about the way you had approached your try-out they told us on the phone and that they hadn´t felt this good about a new coach in a long time. You can be really proud of how far you´ve come Tess. And now you get to take your amazing coaching to the next level. We are both so proud of you and so happy for you. We know it will be amazing.”

“You guys, I can´t thank you enough for taking me in last year. This has been my dream for ages. I can´t wait for it to start.”

“Well, we´re going to leave you to enjoy your holiday and we´ll sort out the details when you´re back next week. We just wanted to let you know.”

“Thank you so much and I´ll see you next week” Tessa says and hangs up. She immediately lets out a loud squeal and flings herself around Jordan for a tight hug. “What´s going on T?” she asks curiously. Tessa lets her go and sits in front of her. “Well, last week I had a coaching try-out with a skating couple. They just called Marie and Patch to let them know that they want to work with me,” she beams. “Ok sis, but you´ve worked with many couples before and never had reactions like this when you were told you´re going to be working with them. What´s so special about this one for you to have this kind of a reaction?” “It´s been my dream to work with a couple like this for years and I finally get to. It´s amazing” Tessa replies. “I am happy for you Tess, but that still leaves me in the dark” “Ok, fine, I will be training Kaitlyn Weaver and Scott Moir” she beams. Jordan´s jaw drops to the floor, “you mean _the_ Scott and Kaitlyn. Olympic and world champions?” “Exactly those, yes!”

Jordan and Tessa spend the rest of the day talking about it and when their mom gets back from running errands she is just as shocked and excited as Jordan was when she found out. They go out for a celebratory meal that evening. Tessa enjoys the rest of her holiday and when it´s time for her to go back to Montreal, she can´t wait for the next exciting chapter to start.

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The first week of training is exciting and draining for Tessa. She finds herself dead tired at the end of each day but she is so satisfied, that she doesn´t really care. The three of them have gotten off to a great start working on technique and Tessa has also started coming up with music ideas and choreo for them to present to them next week. Scott hasn´t blown out at her again yet, and she has gradually gotten to know him better. Kaitlyn is a sweetheart and Tessa can tell that although she is their coach, that a friendship is forming between them. Bonding over topics like fashion and lifestyle, they really seem to be able to get along very well. And what Tessa enjoys the most about working with the professionals is that although they all work very hard and are very determined, they also laugh a lot and have fun. She finds Scott hilarious and although she doesn´t find herself to be all that funny, Scott still laughs at all her jokes and Kaitlyn does too. Tessa also finds that her mind is often drifting to thoughts on how good Scott looks or how amazing he is and she tries to ignore them and concentrate on the task on hand. She can´t let feelings enter the picture and is determined to keep it that way. However, Scott sometimes makes it quite difficult for her to do so, constantly, what seems like flirting, with her.

After leaving the rink on Friday after another great day of training and team meetings, Tessa collapses on the coach. She vows to stay exactly where she is the whole weekend and just sleep, but her phone apparently has other plans as it notifies her with a text message. She looks at her screen and sees that it´s from Kaitlyn.

_Hi Tessa! The first week of training has been an absolute treasure and we can´t wait to continue working with you for the next two years. We´ve gotten to know each other quite well on ice but Scott and I would like to invite you to dinner tomorrow evening, if you´re up to it, just to get to know each other better and build the coach/student relationship. We would reserve a table at Foxy´s for around 6.30 tomorrow evening. Let us know if you´re up for it._

_K &S_

Tessa immediately replies

_Hey Kait! I have enjoyed this week too and I´ll see you two tomorrow evening at Foxy´s. Thank you for the invite, that´s so sweet of you guys._

_T._

Tessa enjoys an early night that evening, dreaming about training, dinner and Scott.

Saturday evening Tessa gets ready for dinner with Kaitlyn and Scott. It´s obviously just a casual dinner between a coach and her students/friends and she doesn´t really need to impress them with her clothing choice but Tessa wouldn´t be Tessa if she didn´t make her choice anything but stylish. In the end she settles on a simple pair of black skinny jeans, along with a white blouse and a leather jacket and some simple shoes. She arrives at the restaurant 10 minutes early. As she can´t see either Scott or Kaitlyn, she assumes she must be the first to arrive and walks into the restaurant and sits at the table that Kaitlyn had reserved. It was a bit tucked away at the back of the restaurant, understandably Tessa thinks, considering the attention that comes with being top-class athletes and Canada´s sweethearts. She waits to order anything, thinking it would be rude not to wait.

Just after 6.30 Scott enters the restaurant and can see Tessa sitting at the table. He takes her in and can´t stop to think about how beautiful she is. He walks over to her and she smiles at the sight of him. _God damn he´s hot_ she thinks seeing him in some dark blue jeans and a blue button down. “Hey” she smiles standing up to give him a hug. He places his hand on her waist and leans in to kiss her cheek, “Hey Tess, you look good” he tells her. She blushes and answers, “not too bad yourself Moir.” Scott grins at her before sitting down opposite her. “Where have you left Kaitlyn?” Tessa inquires. “Oh, um… she texted me she would was running a couple minutes late cause she had a situation come up.” “Oh, what kind of situation?” Tessa asks. “Well she wouldn´t tell me but knowing her she probably had to pick a special someone up from the airport” he smirks.

“Just to clarify so I don´t embarrass myself and don´t get too confused, I have to ask when you say someone special, you are referring to a boyfriend? So that means that you and Kaitlyn aren´t dating” Tessa blushes asking him. Although they have always said they weren´t in a relationship, she always figured based on their chemistry that there was something going on between them.

Scott chuckles lightly before answering, “No we are not a couple and we never have been and also have never crossed that line. And yes I mean boyfriend. She hasn´t specifically told me anything yet, but I suspect she might soon. And before you blush anymore, I am not seeing anyone at the moment. I was seeing someone, Kaitlyn Lawes you may have heard of her, but not anymore.”

Good to know, Tessa thought to herself. “Why is that good to know Tess?” “Shit, did I say that out loud?” Scott chuckled, “Yeah you did” “Sorry, what I meant was that it´s good to know that you and Kaitlyn aren´t a couple despite all the speculation. Now I don´t feel like I am missing anything” Tessa stuttered. Scott laughed and it relaxed her.

“What about you? Are you seeing anyone if I may ask?” Scott asked. “No, I am not. My boyfriend and I broke up last year when I got the job offer from Marie and Patch. He didn´t want to support me and my dreams although I had supported his route to success, so I drew the line and moved to Montreal.”

“Good to know” Scott joked and Tessa laughed.

Finally, Kaitlyn arrived and apologized for being late. “You guys, I am really sorry, I had a situation come up and had to deal with it.” Tessa shot Scott a look who snorted and covered it with a cough. Kaitlyn caught the interaction, “anything to say Scotty?” she teased him. Scott´s face turned into a frown within a fraction of a second. “Uh, no, hope it was nothing serious” he snorted again and Kaitlyn had had enough. “Fine, since you seem to be imagining I don´t know what Moir, I had to pick up my boyfriend from the airport.” Scott shot Tessa a look before saying, “told you.” “What do you mean, told you so?” exclaimed Kaitlyn. “Geez, Kait, calm down. Tessa and I were just talking about current relationship statuses and I had a feeling there was someone in your life, but I wasn´t sure.” “Really?” Kaitlyn raised her eyebrow.

“Kaitlyn, it´s true. I asked about the nature of your guys´ relationship and Scott mentioned it. We didn´t say anything else,” Tessa assured Kaitlyn. “Are you going to tell us about him Kait?” Scott teased further. “Don´t push it Moir,” she teased back, “and if you have to know something, let me tell you he is another Canadian ice dancer, who you happen to know very well.” “Wait!” Scott exclaimed, “are you saying you´re dating Andrew Poje!?” Scott was shocked. “That´s the one” Kaitlyn smiled. Tessa knew exactly who Andrew was and she had to be honest he was hot. Not exactly her type, she was eyeing someone a little shorter and paler than him, but Andrew had model potential.

Scott was still shocked at the announcement his partner had just made, so Kaitlyn turned to Tessa. “Would you also like to voice your opinion Tess?” Kaitlyn asked in mockery to Scott. “I mean I don´t even know you that long yet, so no, but I am happy for you if he makes you happy. I just have to say it though,” Tessa paused, puzzling Kaitlyn. “What Tess?” Kaitlyn was expecting an answer along the lines of, it better not get in the way of training etc., but not what Tessa eventually said. “He is hot!” Tessa blurted out, and although Kaitlyn was kind of shocked at first, she burst out laughing immediately after. “I know!” she said back, “but he is also so much more than that, you´ll have to meet him sometime.” “I would love to meet him, and am happy for you, unlike Mr. Moir over there apparently” she digged at Scott who still hadn´t said a word.

“T,” he proclaimed, “what the hell! Whose side are you on?” “I am on no one’s side Scotty, we are a team, there are no sides. Do you have a problem with Kait being with Andrew?”

“No, I don´t. I just can´t believe that my best friends didn´t tell me they were a thing. Andrew and I have been hanging out loads lately and he never mentioned a thing.”

Kaitlyn place her hand over his resting on the table, “Scott, we didn´t tell anyone. Not even our families knew until a couple weeks ago. We wanted to get to know each other before having anyone else´s opinion. And now that we´ve been dating for 5 months, we´ve decided to let family and some friends know, but asked everyone to keep it from the media please.”

Scott wrapped his arm around Kaitlyn and gave her squeeze, “Of course I am happy for you. Just mad Poje didn´t tell me he was going to be in town this weekend. I just hope you remember our agreement about this comeback.”

“Of course I remember and I was very clear to Andrew about it. After nearly two decades of skating together you should know how important this is to me.”

After the small issue of Kaitlyn´s relationship had been cleared, the three enjoyed their dinner. They talked about everything possible and really got to know each other of the ice. Fairly soon it was clear to all three of them, that this would not only be a coach/student relationship, but that it was a developing friendship, that could become very special. Although two of the of the three were maybe hoping for more than friendship, but knew that it wasn´t likely due to the nature of the comeback and that it could possibly interfere with everything.

Scott opted to pay for dinner, despite Kaitlyn and Tessa´s protests and the three left the restaurant. Kaitlyn was quick to announce that she was going to head home and warn Andrew that Scott would probably be over tomorrow to give him a bit of a rough time. That left Tessa and Scott.

“How are you getting home?” Scott asked her. “I´m walking, how about you?” “I´ll walk with you, if that´s ok?” he replied. “It´s ok, just don´t know if the direction is the same?” They soon found out the direction was somewhat similar and walked the 15 minutes to Tessa´s apartment. On the way they continued to get to know each other. They got on really well and both of them were happy around each other. “This is me,” Tessa announced once they reached her apartment block. “Well, I guess this is where I will leave you then” he joked. “I had a really great time Scott. I think it was a great idea to get to know you and Kaitlyn better and build a foundation for this partnership. And thanks again for paying. It´ll be on me next time” she smiled at him, getting lost in his hazel eyes.

“No problem. I can only speak for myself but I also had a really great evening. I didn´t get off to a great start but I think this can really go somewhere. I´ll see you at the rink bright and early on Monday” Scott said before pecking her cheek and walking away to his apartment.

Tessa couldn´t help but think if he was talking about the trainer/student relationship _going somewhere_ , or if he was implying something else, because she had a feeling she wasn´t the only one noticing the sparks between them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed it. What did you think?  
> Updates may not be too regular for now since I have exams coming up. But therefore I am trying to make the chapters longer.
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated!


	4. Could I be that Stupid?

The next weeks of training run smoothly and the connection between Tessa and her students becomes even stronger. They all enjoy working together and they make sure that while they work hard every day, that they also have fun with it. Tessa finds Scott hilarious and Scott admits that Tessa is actually also hilarious. Kaitlyn, Scott and Tessa had set their short dance to a compilation of Prince whilst their free dance would encompass a contemporary piece by Sam Smith. Scott and Kaitlyn both really loved the programmes and Tessa was very pleased with the progress they had made since they first started training together. Marie and Patch are also extremely excited and happy with the way the three of them are working together and progressing and if they notice a special connection between Scott and Tessa, they don´t mention it.

At their first competition, Skate Canada International, they easily won and Tessa had never been happier in her life. She finally had a team that she was coaching win a big competition. It was a fulfilment for the whole team, but especially Tessa as she had never had this opportunity before. A couple weeks after that, they won their even in Japan. Tessa, having never travelled outside of Canada or the US, was elated to be in Japan, although she had also been really nervous as it would be quite the cultural shock for her. Scott and Kaitlyn showed her around though, seeing as they had been to Japan many times before. She had also begun to notice, that while she had gotten to know both Kaitlyn and Scott so well, that she was able to read them better and better every day. Therefore, she was starting to worry about Scott just before they were set to travel to France for the Grand Prix finals. He was becoming quieter around her and it seemed like he was trying to distance himself from her for whatever reasons. Around Kaitlyn he was still himself, joking around and all. Tessa didn´t want to approach him before their big competition though, so she told herself she would ask him once the competition is over.

France was one of Tessa´s favourite countries in the world, although she had never been. She just loved the French culture and lifestyle, so the trip to Marseilles was very special to her. Scott and Kaitlyn skated better than they had ever before and won the finals for the first time in their career. Tessa, Marie and Patch (who were also there) were over the moon proud and happy and decided they would all go out for dinner together to celebrate. Dinner went smoothly and everyone enjoyed themselves. There were also a couple other teammates from team Canada that joined them, including Eric Radford, Megan Duhamel and Patrick Chan. There was a lot of laughing and funny stories told. When dinner was over, everyone went their own way. Tessa wanted to explore the city a bit and Marie decided to go with her, Kaitlyn was going to hang with Eric and Megan, whilst Scott and Patrick were going to hang out for a while.

Tessa and Marie explored the city for a good while, before Marie announced she was going to head back to the hotel so she could skype with her daughter. Tessa was left on her own and found a small, quiet bench at the water´s edge where she sat down and reflected for a while. She took in the scenery around her and couldn´t comprehend how lucky she had gotten to be able to travel the world whilst coaching the world´s greatest skaters at the same time.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder and jumped a little. “Sorry, didn´t mean to scare you.” Scott was looking down at her with a smile on his face. “Can I join you?” he asked softly. “Sure”, Tessa moved to the side to make so room for him. They just stared out over the water for a while in complete silence. Tessa was debating in her head whether or not this was the right time to talk to Scott or if she should wait till they were back home. “Scott?” she broke the silence. “Yeah?”

“I just wanted to ask if everything is ok?”

“Yeah, why wouldn´t it?” he replied in a soft voice.

“It´s just, that um… I´ve noticed that you´ve been kind of… I don´t know how to say it, um distant around me in the last few weeks. We used to talk so much, even outside of the rink and then you slowly started to withdraw yourself. You´re still you around Kait but I feel like you´ve changed around me, so I just wanted to know if everything is ok.” She stuttered out, hoping not to offend him or so. Scott didn´t say anything for a while, just stared out over the water. Tessa was slowly starting to feel uncomfortable. Had she said something wrong? Maybe she shouldn´t have asked him. She slowly started to get up, “look Scott, I didn´t mean to offend you or anything but it´s just something I observed. I´m sorry. I´m going to go.” She stepped away from the bench but Scott reached out and pulled on her wrist. “Wait T”. She turned to look back at him and sat back down next to him.

She could sense that he was nervous.  Scott ran his hand through his hair before he began, “Tess, I´m sorry you´re feeling like that. I swear I am not trying to distance myself from you. I´ve just got some stuff going on that I need to try and somehow deal with before I can talk about it. Ok, so everything is fine and when I´m ready, I´ll talk to someone.”

“Ok.” She places a hand on his shoulder, “just know that you can also come talk to me about anything. I´m gonna head back, do you wanna join me?” “Yeah sure, I think I need to get some rest before gala practice tomorrow,” he stands up and the two walk back to the hotel. Their arms brush slightly and Tessa can´t relish the feeling of how nice it feels to have him this close.

Scott notices her shivering slightly, so he takes off and gently wraps it around her shoulders. “Thanks Scott, but aren´t you going to freeze?” “Nah I´ll be fine.” They make it back to the hotel and Scott walks Tessa back to her room. Before she opens her door she turns round to Scott, “thanks for the company Scotty,” he chuckles at the name she knows he hates. “Your welcome. Enjoy your day off tomorrow and I´ll see you at the banquet tomorrow evening” he pulls her into a tight hug, inhaling her scent before pecking her cheek (although slightly close to her mouth) and walks towards the elevators to get to his room.

Once inside, Tessa starts taking off her coat, noticing that she still has Scott´s scarf. It smells of him, she realizes and takes a deep breath. She can´t help but smile. But she also can´t help but think about how ridiculous she is. She knows it could never work between them. She´s his coach and he is totally committed to his and Kaitlyn´s comeback. He said he didn´t want any distractions so there was no chance anyway. And for anything to happen, he would have to feel the same way, wouldn´t he?

_Wait_ Tessa thinks. What if he does? What if him distancing himself is because he feels the same way? What if the stuff he is dealing with is his feelings? The only way to find out is to wait and see. Or she could take action.

Meanwhile, Scott is getting ready for bed in his room, two flights above Tessa´s, when he hears a knock on his door. He looks at the clock and sees that it is just before 11, who would be knocking at his door at this time? “Coming” he yells before quickly finishing brushing his teeth and throwing on an old leafs shirt. He expected Chiddy or Eric to be standing in front of his room but never in his life did he expect to see Tessa there in an oversize hoody.

“Hey, what´s up?” he casually asks her.

“Um, I noticed I still had your scarf and I wanted to return it to its owner” she smiled. “You could have given it back tomorrow too you know, it´s quite late, but thanks.”

“Yeah but I probably would´ve forgotten and then I would have never returned it because it´s quite comfy” Tessa chuckled. “That it is, I agree. My mom got it for me for Christmas like last year” he stated. Tessa let her eyes rake over his body and damn he looked good.

Scott cleared his throat, startling Tessa lightly. “Well, I guess it´s pretty late and at least one of us has to get up early tomorrow,” he winks at her “so not to be rude but I´d like to get to bed.”

Tessa chuckled lightly, “Yeah, um sure. I guess not everyone has the luxury of being able to sleep in past noon tomorrow” she looked up at Scott with a goofy grin and gave him a little poke to the ribs. She was testing the waters and earned a laugh from Scott in return. “Yeah, yeah, well if you´re going to return my scarf, I think you´d better give it to me eh?” Tessa looked down at the scarf in her hands before moving it in Scott´s direction. She expected Scott to grab the Scarf, but instead he placed his hand over Tessa´s. Tessa felt like her skin was burning, what was he doing?

“T?” he questioned taking a step closer to her. They were now inches apart and if Tessa were to move her head to be able to look up at him, their noses would be touching. Tessa swallowed and slowly turned her head to look at him “yeah” she whispered. Scott rested his forehead against hers. His thumb was drawing small circles on the back of her hand, which he was still holding onto. The air between them was so tense. Both of their breathing had grown heavy. “Scott” Tessa whispered so quietly that he barely heard her, but it was all the invitation he needed to gently place his lips over hers. It took Tessa a couple seconds to realize what was happening but once she caught onto the fact that Scott was kissing her, she began to move her lips against his. It was a sweet but sensual kiss that felt like the perfect first kiss to Tessa. Scott felt Tessa´s tongue run over his lips and he opened his mouth to let her deepen the kiss. Tessa dropped the scarf she was still holding and slipped her hands into the back of his hair. Scott moved his hands to her waist and pulled her as close as possible.

Tessa was the first to pull back, both breathing heavily and resting their foreheads against each other and with huge grins on their faces. “That was nice” Tessa was the first to speak. Scott laughed out loud at her line, “oh that´s all. I thought that was pretty damn perfect.” Tessa gulped, “really?” “Yeah, I´ve been thinking of doing that for a while.” Scott admitted. “Well, I think I´m going to go and catch some sleep” Tessa announced. “Yeah, I guess I should too. But Tess, can we talk when we´re back in Montreal?” he asked while Tessa was already walking towards the lifts, “um… yeah, I guess we should” she said before disappearing into the lift.

The thing is, they never talked though. When they got home they had a couple of days of training before they went home for a small Christmas break. When they came back from the break they had a couple more days of training before they headed to Ottawa for Nationals.

The relationship between Tessa and Scott didn´t change much to what Tessa had analysed before their kiss. Scott continued to distance himself from her and avoided spending too much time alone with her. Tessa didn´t know why he hadn’t come to talk yet. He was the one that had wanted to talk so it puzzled her as to why he never asked if they could talk. It also hurt her in a way that nobody had ever hurt her before in her life. Did he not want to talk? Did he think it was a mistake? Did he not want her? Had he met someone? All those questions swirled through Tessa´s mind but she had to ignore them to focus on the task at hand which was coaching Kaitlyn and Scott to their seventh National title.

The competition went really well, and once again they won their competition. Skate Canada was throwing a big banquette at the end of the week for all skaters and their teams to celebrate the season as well as to ring in the “one year till the Olympics”. Kaitlyn was as happy as ever seeing as she was able to spend time with Andrew as he had also competed. Both Tessa and Scott spent most of their free time in their respective hotel rooms. Chiddy had noticed that Scott was miserable and not spending his time socialising like he normally did so he went up to his room to confront him about it. He knocked and Scott let him in.

“What the hell is going on with you man?” Chiddy was direct.

“I don´t know what you mean Chid. Everything is fine,” Scott snapped back.

“Oh really, so would you please explain to me then why you are constantly moping around in your room and not socialising with anybody. Scott, you know you can talk to me about anything.”

“Ok, you really wanna know what´s going on” Scott snapped once again. He really didn´t want to tell Chiddy what he was about to, but he needed someone to help him.

“Yes buddy, I care about you but right now I don´t even recognize you, so please tell me what´s going on.”

“Tess and I kissed” Scott blurted out. Chiddy didn´t say anything for a while.

“Wait you mean Tessa?” Chiddy asked.

“Yes, her. Tessa Virtue my coach”

“What!!!!” Chiddy exclaimed.

“Yes, we kissed in Marseilles and I asked her to talk when we got back to Montreal but we haven´t talked yet and now I don´t know what´s going on.” Scott confessed. “I thought she felt the same way, but I guess she either met someone else or she doesn´t feel the way I thought she felt.”

Chiddy was pacing in front of Scott who was sitting on his bed. “When you said you asked to talk when you got back to Montreal, which one of you asked?” Chiddy questioned him. “I did. I said and I quote, “Tess, can we talk when we get back to Montreal” and she said yes and then she left and we haven´t really spoken since besides for training.”

“Scott you realize that she´s probably waiting for you to approach her seeing as you were the one to ask to talk.” Scott was dumbfounded. Could he really be that stupid? “Really, you think she´s expecting me to make the move and talk to her?”

“Yes, I do. Remember, Liz and I went through something similar. If you´re the one to ask, you have to be the one to act on it too.”

“How could I have been so stupid? What is wrong with me?”

“I don´t know but just make sure you fix it. I don´t want to think about what is going through her mind right now. But Scott just answer me one thing, do you love her?”

“Of course I love her. The moment I met her I knew she was something special even though I acted like an asshole then. She´s amazing and I feel like she´s been the piece that has been missing from me. I feel completed with her.” Scott said staring Chiddy dead in the eye.

“Buddy, that´s all I wanted to hear. I just hope you have thought this through. I know you guys want the Olympics and if this goes wrong it could end it all. I hope it´s worth it.” Chiddy said pulling Scott into a hug.

“There is nothing worth more than her Chid. I´ve never felt this way.”

“I´m happy for you Scott. Now go fix it,” he said pulling open the door if Scott´s room and ushering him out.

“That´s exactly what I´m going to go do” Scott announced and marched towards Tessa´s room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think.
> 
> Comments and Kudos appreciated!


	5. Chapter 5

Scott stood in front of Tessa´s door and knocked three times. He waited but didn´t hear anything coming from inside. He knocked again and waited. And again and again. “Tess, are you in there?” he called through the door. “Tessa?” he asked again and still didn´t receive an answer.

Marie- France who was in the room next to Tessa´s heard all the noise coming from next door and stepped out her room to see what was going on. She saw Scott repeatedly knocking on the door. “Scott, what are you doing?” she called out to him. “I´m looking for Tessa, have you seen her?” he answered. “Oh ma Cherie, did she not tell you, she left a couple of hours ago to go back home. She came to me all flustered and asked for some time off. She said something about family. I didn´t quite get all of it because of how out of herself she was but I told her to go.” Scott´s face fell. Why hadn´t she told him or Kaitlyn? “No… uh she didn´t tell me”, he told Marie. “That´s strange. She normally is so organized. I guess it must have been so important that she didn´t have any time. I guess she´ll write to you soon.” “I hope so, that´s really not like her” Scott said quietly. “What did you need from her anyway? Maybe I can help you?” Marie inquired. “Oh, uh no, I needed to talk to her about something.” “Ok, well if you need me you can come to me” Marie told Scott. “Thanks Marie”, he replied, “um… do you happen to know when she´ll be back?”

“She didn´t say exactly, but she said that she need a couple weeks and hoped to be back by March, but she would call me soon to tell me exactly what was going on.” Marie answered.

“Wow, that´s um a pretty long time. It must be serious. Who will coach us until then?” Scott questioned.

“Patch and I will take you and Kaitlyn until then. We need to make sure you are prepared for worlds, no matter what the circumstances are”

Scott thanked Marie for the information before retreating back to his room. He quickly texted Kaitlyn and asked if Tessa had told her anything. Kaitlyn replied telling him that Tessa had informed her and asked her to tell him, but she must have forgotten. Scott sank down into his bed, thoughts trailing his mind about what was going on and about whether or not Tessa was ok. He knew that Kaitlyn and him would have an intense couple of weeks of training before worlds now, but he had to somehow figure out what was going on with her. He cared too much to just wait for her to return.

When Kaitlyn and Scott returned to Montreal, their training set in straight away. Early mornings at the rink and long days in the gym. They were doing everything possible to be in the best shape possible for the upcoming worlds. Although their eventual goal was the Olympics, they wanted to win worlds once again and show the world how ready they are for the Olympics. It also would give them another chance to compete against their biggest rivals, Gabi and Guillaume. Kaitlyn had expressed her concern about Tessa but was able to get on with training, knowing that she would come back when she was ready to. Scott on the other hand was having difficulties dealing with the situation. Not only because it meant their training schedule changed somewhat due to the fact that they weren´t training with their personal coach anymore but because of his feelings. He hated himself for the fact that he had put a rift between them because he didn´t go talk to her and now he wouldn´t get the opportunity to either because she wasn´t in Montreal. He also hated himself because he wasn’t able to check if she was ok. He had texted her but she had never read the messages and she also didn´t pick up or return any of his calls. He was increasingly becoming worried with every day that passed and his team around him had noticed. Kaitlyn and Marie had both asked him if everything was ok and he had told them that he was just worried about Tessa but both of the ladies sensed that there was something deeper going on, but they didn´t want to push him any further.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was now the end of March and Tessa still hadn´t returned to Montreal for coaching. Scott and Kaitlyn were leaving for Worlds in two days and although they enjoyed training with Marie and Patch, this would be their first competition without Tessa and they didn´t know how Marie and Patch were going to split their time between all the teams they were overseeing.

Tessa had informed Marie that she planned to comeback to Montreal after Worlds. Marie and Patch were the only ones that knew why Tessa had needed so much time off and Tessa had asked them to not talk to Scott and Kaitlyn about it, as it was something she needed and wanted to do herself when she came back. Tessa had also mentioned to Marie that she was going to try and get to Helsinki if she could but that she couldn´t make any promises.

Scott´s mood had gotten better as he had managed to talk to his therapist about his feelings not only for Tessa but for the current situation they were in. He had learned to compartmentalize the fact that Tessa wasn´t there at the moment and that he had to put his feelings of frustration and anger to one side and focus on the task ahead of them. But the thought that Tessa may have taken the time off to distance herself from him kept creeping into his mind.

They flew to Helsinki and set a new world record in the short dance. It couldn´t have gone any better and for one of the first times in months Scott was actually happy and excited about what he and Kaitlyn had just done. There was a huge grin on his face throughout all interviews and he couldn´t contain his excitement. Kaitlyn told Patch it was like walking around with a kid in a candy store. Everyone was happy that Scott was finally back to himself. They didn´t celebrate their short dance success very much as they came to win the title, not just the short dance, so they took it easy and headed to bed early.

In her room, Marie had just laid down on her and Patch´s bed when her phone lit up with a text message. It was Tessa.

_Hi Marie, hope all is well. Scott and Kaitlyn were fantastic today. I wanted to let you know I just arrived at the hotel here in Helsinki and have just checked into my room. I will be watching the competition from the stands tomorrow and hope we can meet up after and talk. Please keep this information to yourself (you can tell Patch of course). I hope to get the chance to talk to Kait and Scott tomorrow after the competition. Please pass on my good luck to them and I´ll see you tomorrow._

_Goodnight,_

_Tess._

Marie was shocked to say the least but also happy. She relayed the message on to Patch before falling asleep.

The next day, she was standing at the boards waiting for Scott and Kaitlyn to start their free dance. She scanned the area trying to find Tessa and after some minutes of searching found her in the upper rows straight across from the kiss and cry. She smiled at her once they locked eyes before turning her attention back to the two graceful skaters on the ice.

There was a little shock that ran through her body when Scott slipped out of a spin but he was quick to regain his composure and both him and Kaitlyn successfully ended their skate. It was absolutely mesmerizing and Marie and Patch knew when they finished that they were looking at the world champions. They skated off the ice and into their arms. As expected, Scott was beating himself up for his slip up but everyone reassured him that it didn´t matter because the rest of the programme was perfect. Scott didn´t want to believe them because he felt like he had let them all down but Patch knew the scores would change his mind. The four sat down in the Kiss and Cry, Patch handing them both a bottle of water. Scott took a couple of big gulps and scanned the audience while doing so. His family hadn´t been able to make the trip, so he wasn´t looking for anyone particular but he enjoyed seeing all the faces of the people that watched him and supported him. He was just scanning passed the area straight ahead of him when his eyes caught a glimpse of someone that seemed all too familiar, but Scott told himself to stop being ridiculous. Why would she be here? She hadn´t seen them in nearly two months, so what would she be doing here? But Scott dared his eyes to wonder back to where he thought he had seen her and this time he was sure, she was here.

Scott tore his eyes away from here. There was no way she should be here. He had just gotten used to not seeing here and now she was here, what was he going to do. He turned pale and looked towards Marie and Patch. They nodded slightly to show him they knew she was here too. His thoughts were interrupted by their scores being announced. They had done it again. World champions for the third time. There were still two teams to skate, but they had such a lead from the short dance, that there was no chance they would come close to their score. He hugged Kaitlyn and Marie and Patched and waved to the fans. He was so happy they had won, but seeing her here was playing with his emotions on a level he wasn´t used to. He didn´t know if he should be happy to see her and maybe finally talk to her or if he should be angry. She left them for months and never even contacted him. They were presented with their medals and belted their lungs out to “O Canada”. Kaitlyn and him celebrated shortly backstage, just the two of them, before heading off to their respective dressing rooms to shower and get ready for press conferences and media.

Meanwhile, Tessa had met up with Marie and Patch in the tunnels of the arena. She had given them a brief overview of what had happened for her to be gone for so long and that she was really sorry. She also told them she would be back coaching Scott and Kaitlyn in Montreal now, even though their break was coming up soon. Marie and Patch told her they completely understood and would have done the same if they were in here situation. They also told her about Scott and that they had been seriously worried about him during her absence. Tessa gulped when she heard all the stories about Scott and felt a pang of guilt hit her gut. Tessa then did something she hadn´t planned on doing, “where is Scott now?” she asked. “He should be in the dressing room getting ready for press” Patch told her, “but I think you should wait till after to talk to them. You should have seen how white he went when he found you in the audience” he continued. “I know the sensible thing would be to wait, but I really need to do this I think.” Tessa explained. “Ok, well you better hurry then, because press starts in 20 minutes or so” Marie said before pointing her in the direction of the dressing rooms.

Tessa scurried in the direction Marie had pointed her in. She found the door of the men’s and paused in front of it. She couldn´t just barge in there could she. Who knew who else was in there. In that moment another skater walked out of the dressing room and Tessa saw her opportunity, “Oh, uh excuse me” she blurted out to catch his attention, “Can I help you” the skater asked confused. “Uh yeah, I´m looking for Scott Moir. Is he in there?” she asked. “Um yeah he´s in there. He should be the only one left since it was only me and him just now” he replied. “Ok thank you very much,” Tessa said with a smile and the skater walked away. She walked up to the door and pushed it wide open, stepping inside the dressing room.

She rounded the corner from the entrance and there he was, sitting on one of the benches resting his head against the wall. Damn he looked good fresh out the shower she thought but was quick to shake that thought considering she didn´t know where they stood since she had last seen him.

“Scott,” she called out softly breaking the silence. He didn´t move. “Scott,” she called out once again, this time causing him to lift his head and look at the person who had broken the silence in the room. His eyes caught Tessa´s and he just stared at her. Neither one of them moved. Neither one of them spoke.

After what seemed like forever to Tessa, Scott was the first one to finally move. He took three big steps and enveloped her in a bone crushing hug. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and just held her so tightly. It wasn´t the reaction she had expected and she surely hadn´t expected to hear him sniffle and feel, what must be his tears, wet her jumper. She just stood there and rubbed his back, hoping to calm him down.

Scott suddenly and abruptly pulled out of the embrace, grabbed his things and ran out of the dressing room, leaving an absolutely stunned and shocked Tessa alone.

The next time Tessa saw Scott was during their celebratory dinner. She had told Patch that she didn´t feel it would be appropriate for her to be there but he had insisted, as it also gave her the chance to explain to them all what had been going on the last couple months, even though Patch and Marie already knew the story. Kaitlyn was over the moon to have Tessa back on board and she didn´t show any signs of hard feelings towards Tessa for leaving them. They fell quickly back into their friendship and were talking all things fashion and Andrew. They group of five found a small restaurant and grabbed a table in the back. Scott made it his job to sit as far away from Tessa as possible, so he squeezed between Kaitlyn and Patch and avoided any possible eye contact or conversation with Tessa. Tessa had no clue what was going on. In the dressing room he had been hugging her and crying and now he didn´t want anything to do with her. Maybe she had ruined everything between them she thought to herself.

Marie and Patrice excused themselves from the table so that they could fulfil their promise and call Billie-Rose who had just gotten home from school. Marie locked eyes with Tessa as she got up from the table, signalling her that this would be the best time to talk to Kaitlyn and Scott. Tessa braced herself for what would be a really difficult conversation. She took a deep breath and began.

“Kait, Scott,” she said to grab their attention. Kaitlyn turned to look at her but Scott was more interested in his fingers. “I just wanted to say how proud I am for your accomplishments here tonight and over the last months and how you took the situation and made the best out of it. I really am proud of you. I don´t think there would be many other athletes or people that would be able to deal with a similar situation like you guys did,” she took a deep breath.

“It was really tough, but we have a goal, so we knew we had to keep going. And we also didn´t want to put all the work we had done with you to waste,” Kaitlyn said and wrapped Tessa in a side hug.

“Now, I know you probably have a couple of questions about what caused my sudden absence and I will try explain everything to you as well as possible but it´s not going to be easy for me and I hope you will understand what I did when I´ve finished my explanation.” Tessa took a sip of her water before continuing.

“As you know, I left the day of the banquette at nationals. In the morning I received a call from my older brother Casey and he basically told me, that I should get home as soon as I possibly could, my sister Jordan had been in an accident and they didn´t know if she was going to make it,” Tessa´s voice cracked, “so I booked the next flight home which was two hours later, packed up my things and left for home. I only just managed to text Marie and explain to her where I was going before I got on the plane. When I got to London, I went straight to the hospital, where I was met by my mom. I had never seen her the way she looked when I walked into her arms. My brothers had both gone home, the whole situation was just too much for them. My mom and I just sat there in the hospital and cried and hoped that Jordan would be ok. The only thing we knew was that she was in emergency surgery at that point. Later we were told by the doctors that she was in a coma and that they didn´t know if she was going to wake up, or was what damage she would have. So as you can hopefully understand, I couldn´t just come back to Montreal, train you and act like everything was fine, when there was the possibility that my sister was never going to wake up again. I spent day and night in the hospital next to her hoping and praying that she would wake up. My mind couldn´t focus on anything else, which is why I only texted you a couple days after. After two weeks, Jordan finally woke up and to everyone’s surprise didn´t have any permanent brain damage from the accident. She still had her other injuries to deal with, but at least there wasn´t any brain damage. Her road to recovery was a long one. She spent the following two weeks in hospital trying to rehabilitate her other injuries as far as possible. I was there every step of the way with her and then when she was finally released from hospital, I took her in and nursed and cared for her until she was capable of managing on her own again, which was only just now. I´m sorry.” Tessa finished with a shaky breath. She looked at Kaitlyn whose eyes´ were shimmering. She flung herself at Tessa.

“I can totally understand why you did what you had to do. I don´t think I would have reacted in any other way and I wouldn´t have wanted to keep you in Montreal when your sister was fighting for her life. You have no need to apologize. Your sister can be lucky to have someone like you,” Kaitlyn condoled her and hugged her once more. Scott was still silent and looking at his hand but Kaitlyn could see the trail of a tear on the side of his cheek. She leaned into him and began rubbing her hand up and down his back. “You okay,” she asked him. He didn´t reply, just nodded, but Kaitlyn knew he wasn´t fine. This was one of the situations where she couldn´t read him, she knew something was off, but she didn´t know just what.

Scott couldn´t believe what he was hearing. Tessa´s sister had been fighting for her life and Tessa had been attending her, whilst he had been throwing punches at a sandbag in Montreal thinking that he had ruined everything because they didn´t talk. He had thought she was mad at him, that she never wanted to see him again, he had blamed her for not wanting to talk. He had thought so wrong of her, that now he felt like throwing those punches right back at himself and vomiting. Now, he was angry at himself. How could he have blamed her like that. She didn´t do anything wrong, yet he had been so angry and upset at her. He didn´t think he could ever look at her again.

Suddenly, it was all too much for him. He felt like he couldn´t breathe. He needed air, he needed to get out of the restaurant and he definitely needed to get away from Tessa. As much as he still had feelings for her, at this very moment it was all too much. He stood up and mumbled something along the lines of “I´m sorry, I can´t do this,” to Tessa and Kaitlyn before rushing out of the restaurant. Once he hit the street he started running and didn´t stop until he reached the safety of his hotel room. He flung himself onto the bed and just started balling out all of the emotions that had been running through his body since the moment he had seen Tessa in the stands after the free dance.

Meanwhile, Patrice and Marie came back to the table. “Where is Scott?” Patrice asked confused as to where his friend was. “Um… Tessa just told us about her sister and then he got up and left,” Kaitlyn replied, “I have no clue what´s going on with him. I know he´s beating himself for slipping today, but we talked and I thought he was over it.” Kaitlyn thought out loud.

“We´ll check on him later, let us enjoy dinner first and be happy about your win and that Tessa is back,” Marie announced as the waiter came to take their orders. Tessa enjoyed hanging with her friends, mentors, and student again but she couldn´t get this nagging feeling out of her mind, that Scott´s abrupt leaving had something to do with her.

Scott was woken by the faint sounds of knocks against his hotel room door. By now it was pitch black outside and the street lanterns were on. _Geez, how long did I sleep for_ he thought to himself before being interrupted by the knocking again. “Coming,” he called out and the knocking stopped. He walked over to the door and expected to see Marie, Patch or Kaitlyn on the other side when he opened it he did not however, expect to see Tessa on the other side of the door.

“Hey,” she said in a faint voice. “Hi,” Scott replied, diverting his eyes from her to the floor. For a moment they both just stood there, neither knowing really what to say or do. “Um, do you think maybe we could talk Scott?” Tessa asked cautiously. “Yeah, I think we should,” Scott swallowed before opening the door wider, inviting Tessa in and closing it behind her. The tension in the room was intense, nothing like either Scott or Tessa had ever felt in their lives before. Scott´s room had two twin beds, Tessa sat down on the spare one, whilst Scott rested against the headboard of the bed he had been sleeping in. Silence took over the room once again. Scott knew he should probably make the first move since he had blown in the last time they had tried to talk.

“Look Tess, first I want to say I am really sorry about what happened to your sister but she is lucky to have someone like you to take care of her,” he looked over at Tessa and she gave him a weak smile, “and secondly I want to apologize for not coming to talk to you after Marseilles, I know I was the one that asked to talk, but I guess I thought that didn´t mean that I was the one that had to come to you to talk. I thought we would, I don´t know what I thought was going to happen, but I am so sorry for not coming to you.” He breathed.

Another stretch of silence passed before Tessa spoke, “Scott just because you asked to talk didn´t mean that I was waiting for you to come and talk. I guess I was expecting you to come to me but then again, I could have also taken the initiative and asked you to talk. It was a miscommunication, it´s bound to happen, we´re humans and not perfect. I thought maybe you regretted it and that´s why you didn´t…”

Scott cut her off, “I didn´t regret it. I acted like an ass, but I definitely didn´t regret it.”

“Time just passed and I really don´t know why I didn´t go to you but you continued to distance yourself during coaching so I thought it was best just to leave it. And then the whole thing with my sister happened and yeah.”

“I´m going to be honest Tess, and I know I am probably going to sound like a total ass but I thought that you maybe regretted it. And then I thought that you were mad at me because I didn´t talk to you and that´s why you left,” Scott heard her suck in a breath, “I know I hate what I thought, but I didn´t have anything else to go off. In Ottawa, before the banquet Chiddy came and talked to me and I realized that I probably should be the one to talk to you and bring it up, so I ran to your room and I stood their knocking like an insane person until Marie told me you had left. My whole world crumbled because I thought you were pissed at me,” Scott´s voice began to crack and a few stray tears escaped his eyes as he caught Tessa´s, “and then only Kait got a text from you and I was sure I had fucked everything up. And then at dinner tonight when you finally told us what had happened, I felt like such a dick for believing you were pissed, when you were going through one of the toughest things a person can go through. I hated myself in that moment, which is why I had to leave. You, Kait, Marie and Patch didn´t deserve to have this wonderful evening ruined by a dickhead like me, who thinks everything is about him and that nobody else is ever going through something. I am so, so sorry for doubting you the way I did Tess. I don´t know if I can forgive myself.” He buried his faces in his hands and let a few more tears slip from his eyes onto his cheeks.

Tessa couldn´t believe what she was hearing, the way Scott was beating himself up was breaking her heart, she couldn´t stand to see him like this, so she did the only thing she knew to do, which was to climb into his bed and hold him. She held him until the sniffles stopped and his breathing became more even. She then moved to the other end of the bed so that she could look at him when she talked. “I´m not going to lie, some of the stuff you just said hurt. But I have to blame myself, I should have informed you what was going on earlier. I know my head was full with Jordan and the whole situation, but I was able to text Marie so I should have texted you too. Please don´t beat yourself up because of this, yes you doubted me and that hurt, but it was my fault too, so I should be beating myself up for that you´re beating yourself up,” that earned her a little chuckle from Scott, “Scott, the way you felt and acted is human, it´s called feeling and there is nothing to be ashamed of there. I probably would have reacted in a similar way if the situation were turned around. I am sorry for the way I made you feel. I should have been more honest with you. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Of course I forgive you Tess,” Scott blurted out immediately after Tessa finished, “you were going through a tough situation, you had all the right to spend time with your family and not texting us. I just hope that maybe one day you can forgive me for the idiotic way I acted.” He looked deep into her eyes.

Tessa scooted closer to him and took his hand and interlaced their fingers, “Scott,” she looked into his glassy, hazel eyes, “I forgive you. I hope you can forgive yourself too, because otherwise I don´t think we can move forward. We both made a mistake, we should have communicated better, but we learn from our mistakes, so I hope we can change that in the future.”

“Thank you,” Scott whispered into Tessa´s hair as he pressed a kiss to her temple. “And speaking of learning from our mistakes, do you think now would be an appropriate time to talk about what happened in Marseilles?” Scott asked with a little chuckle.

“I think that might be a very good idea Moir, one of your best ones yet,” Tessa teased.

“Ok, so I think I am going to start, considering I was the one that wanted to talk, is that ok?” Scott asked.

“Yeah sure, go ahead,” Tessa replied.

“So in Marseilles we kissed,” Scott looked at Tessa and they both smiled at the fond memory, “but before that we were sat on a bench and you asked me if everything was ok and I told you that I was dealing with something but not ready to talk about it yet, you remember?”

“Yes, I do. I remember you becoming more distant during training and I was worried. I also remember telling you that you could come talk to me if you wanted to.”

“Yeah, and that was part of the problem. Not that I wouldn´t come talk to you, but that I couldn´t. And the reason for that is, god I can´t believe I am going to say this,” Scott took a deep breath.

“The reason for that it was Scott? I am slightly worried,” Tessa said.

“I have feelings for you Tessa,” Scott blurted out and avoided eye contact with her. Tessa didn´t know what else to do but smile at his confession. “I don´t know if you feel the same way, but my feelings got so intense that it was painful for me to be near you and act normal because I knew that we couldn´t be what I want us to be.” Tessa face turned confused.

“What can´t we be Scott,” she inquired.

“A couple,” Scott whispered barely audible. Tessa was shocked.

“Who says we couldn´t be a couple?”

“Well firstly, it would have to imply that you feel the same way and secondly, you´re my coach, everything would get messy.”

Tessa swiftly moved to Scott´s side and took his head in her hands and forced him to look at her. “What makes you think I don´t feel the same way?” she said with a smile.

“Do you?” he croaked out.

Tessa didn´t answer him, just leaned in so that their foreheads were touching and he could feel her breath on his lips. “Yes,” she whispered before closing the gap between them.

It took him a few seconds to realize what was happening but he quickly regained his composure and starting gently massaging her lips with his. Their wide grins caused them to break the kiss, “wow,” Scott breathed breathlessly. “Yeah,” Tessa said.

“So you have feelings for me?” Scott asked for reassurance.

“Yes,” Tessa smiled in return.

“Just to be clear, romantic ones?”

“Yes you dweeb,” Tessa slightly punched him in the shoulder before wrapping her arms around him in a tight embrace.

They just sit there for a while, their arms wrapped around each other. They are both content but Tessa can´t get what Scott said about them not being able to be a couple out her mind.

“Scott,” she whispers, not breaking their embrace, “what you said earlier about us not being able to be a couple, why did you say that?”

Scott loosens his grip slightly and turns her so that he is looking straight at her, “I said it because, um… I don´t know but it just was a thought that was running through my mind when you were gone and I was thinking about us. I just kept playing these scenarios in my mind and in each of them someone would always say we can´t be a couple.”

“Ok and in those scenarios what was the people´s reason for saying that we couldn´t?”

“Cause you´re my coach and I am your student. And that my partner and I have a clear goal in mind and she might start to think negative things about us, you, and me. And that it might be a distraction,” Scott confessed and Tessa inhaled sharply.

“I being your coach doesn´t change anything, at the end of the day we are just two people with feelings for each other. The fact that I boss you around and help you accomplish your dreams doesn´t change that. And Scott, I only train you and Kaitlyn. It would be different if I had other teams at the same level because people could think I was favouring you but that´s not the case. Plus, since when have you cared about what other people think?”

Scott sighed, “Normally I don´t care but when things are really important to me, I tend to care, and you mean so much to me Tess, I don´t think you know.” Tessa smiled and gives him a small kiss on his cheek.

“As for what concerns Kaitlyn, I think she may understand the situation better than you think. I mean look, she´s dating Andrew, your opponent. She got a lot of shit for that because her friends and even family were accusing her of not taking skating with you serious as she was meddling with the enemy.”

Scott perks up at those words, “how do you know that, and why don´t I know that?” Tessa chuckles slightly before answering, “Because she told me. Before I left we spent quite a bit of time outside the rink and are really good friends and we talk about stuff. She brought it up when shortly after she told you and me about Andrew because she had informed her family and barely gotten any support.  So I think if you or we talk tell her about it she´ll be fine and I think she might be happy about not having your mopy ass around anymore.” “Hey!” Scott exclaims. “What, it was true Scott, you were really miserable.” “Whatever,” he says planting a kiss on her cheek, “I am happy now.”

“I am happy too,” Tessa says resting her head on his shoulder, “as for your concern about distractions, we just have to keep professional and private separate. Work will be work and what we do outside of the rink is up to us. We´ll have to set boundaries and stuff like that but I can make that work, can you?”

“Yeah, I can try, I want to try,” he smiles.

“Ok, so now that we have disproved all your points about us not being able to be a couple, where does that leave us?” she asks Scott.

“I want to try, I want you. I want to be with you,” Scott stammers out.

“I want that too,” Tessa says, “but I sense a but coming?”

“But I want to get this right Tess. Something tells me that this between us,” he waves his hand between them, “is really special and could really be something. So I want to take it slow. I want it to unfold naturally.” Tessa nods her head on his shoulder.

“I think that is the best way to approach us. And I think in order for us to really be able to try, I think we should keep it between us for the beginning and then when it turns more serious, etc. we can start talking to Kaitlyn and then slowly let others know.”

“Definitely, that way we don´t have any pressure on us or outside negativity. But Tess?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she pulls out of their embrace to look at him.

“I want to take you on a date. When I said I want to do this properly, I meant it.”

“Ok.”

“Tessa, will you go on a date with me?” he asks her with a smile spread across his face.

“I would love to,” Tessa answers and leans in to kiss him capturing his lips with hers. He pulls back and gives his signature “wooooh” before leaning back in.

Tessa breaks away from the kiss, “I think I should leave now and you might want to try and find Marie, Patch and Kaitlyn to explain to them why you didn´t stay for dinner.”

“Yeah that might not be a bad idea, eh,” Scott agrees and stands up with Tessa and they walk to the door. They both pull on their shoes. Tessa turns to look at him and places her hands on his chest and Scott rests his hands on her waist.

“I´m glad we talked today Scott. Not only about us but about the last couple of months. I know it wasn´t easy for either one of us but we got where we both want to be and I hope from here on out it goes upwards.”

“I am glad too and so, so happy that we are both on the same page and willing to give us a try. I´m sure we will struggle too but if we are honest and keep an open communication, I don´t see anything stopping us.” They lean in at the same time and share a sweet but passionate kiss. Scott tries to deepen the kiss and Tessa allows him access. Before things can get too heated, Tessa reaches for the door handle and pulls it open, thereby also pulling away from Scott.

“I´m going to leave now. I´ll see you in Montreal in a couple days before you leave for your break and Stars on Ice.”

“Yeah, I´ll see you then I guess?” Scott says.

“Text me once you´ve figured out our date Scott and this time really, text me. I mean it,” she chuckles before walking to the elevator.

She already a few steps away from his room when she faintly hears him say, “I will Tessa Jane, no way am I going to let one of the best things in my life slip through my fingers.”

There´s a huge smile plastered on her face when she enters the elevator and a similar picture presents when Scott gets into the elevator a couple moments later to go find Marie, Patch and Kaitlyn, ideas for their date already swirling around in his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry that this chapter took so long. Life and exams got in the way but I am also trying to change the structure of my chapters a bit and make them longer and fit more content into them.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed (if any one is even still interested) would love to hear from you in the comments. Kudos are also appreciated.  
> Can´t promise the next chapter will be up any sooner as I still have exams going, but I will try my best.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyone still here?  
> It´s been quite a while. Life got hectic and school took over my life for a while. But I am slowly getting back to writing.  
> Even with the current state of the fandom I think fics are a happy place and anything can happen in them.

Scott and Kaitlyn are back training in Montreal soon after worlds, working on their show programmes and already coming up with ideas for their dances in the next seasons. Although they only have two guest appearances in stars on ice this year, they were still beyond excited to join the cast for the shows in London and Ottawa. In Helsinki Scott had explained his behaviour to Kait, Marie and Patch but hadn´t told them anything about him and Tessa.

They had continued to act as if nothing had ever happened and were enjoying each other’s company again. Kaitlyn had noticed that Scott wasn´t as distant anymore and was glad that the trio were having loads of fun again together. Scott and Kaitlyn had a few short days of training in Montreal before their guest appearances on stars on ice before a well-deserved holiday. After an undefeated season, Kaitlyn and Scott were both really looking forward to that. Kaitlyn would be spending some down time with Andrew in London and then at her family´s cottage before doing a bit of travelling. Scott was also looking forward to some time in Ilderton with his family but he was also excited cause he is finally going to take Tessa on that date that he had promised her.

Their guest performances went really well and whilst they enjoyed hanging with their friends again, they were both in need of their well-deserved holidays. Scott drove down to Ilderton the day after their skates were over and spent his time with family and buddies.  After a few exciting days with his family and some tiring activities with his nieces and nephews he had finally found some time to plan out the perfect date for Tessa. Although he knew Tessa was from London and would likely be spending some of her down time here too, he never actually made a point to ask her when exactly she would be in London.

**S** : Hey T! How are you doing? I wanted to ask if you are in London at the moment and would still be interested in that date that I asked you out on. I was thinking of maybe having it in the next couple of days if you are available. Let me know.

Not even 2 minutes after he sent the text Tessa replied, to his surprise.

**T** : Hey Scott. I am definitely still interested in that date and looking forward to it. I´m not in London right now but I´ll be back in two days. So I would be available then, is that ok?

**S** : That sounds great T. I could pick you up at around 6?

**T** : Yes, I would love that. What should I wear and do I need to bring anything?

**S** : Just wear something comfortable and maybe bring a hoodie that´s it. Could you text me your address over the next days so I´ll know where to find you?

**T** : Will do, I´m looking forward to it.

**S** : Me too.

* * *

And then Scott waited for those two days to be over. He had gotten everything ready and really hoped that Tessa would enjoy his plans.

Just before 6 on the day of their date Scott pulled his truck up in front of the address Tessa had sent him. They had continued to text over the past couple of days and whilst Tessa had tried to get Scott to give her even the slightest hint about what they were doing, Scott hadn´t budged.

Scott climbed out of his car and grabbed the bouquet of flowers from the passenger seat and walked up to her front door. He was quite nervous, not only because he hadn´t been on a date in quite a while but also because Tessa was really special to him and he felt that what they had at the moment or might develop over the course of time could be something that could last a life time. He rang the doorbell and waited.

He heard footsteps on the other side of the door and then it opened and in front of him stood Tessa dressed in some jeans and a red and black flannel. He looked her in the eyes, “Hey,” he said softly, “you look great.”

Tessa smiled back at him, “thanks, you do too. Do you wanna quickly come in?” she asked and opened the door wider for him to step through. They walked through to her kitchen.

“These are for you T,” Scott said handing her the flowers. She gratefully accepted them.

“Thanks,” she said before looking down at them, her eyes lighting up, “peonies, my favourite.” Scott beamed back at her. He was rewarded with a small peck to his cheek before Tessa grabbed a vase and filled it with water and placed the flowers in it.

“Are you ready to go?” Scott asked.

“Yeah, just let me grab some shoes and then we can head out on this mystery date of yours,” she teased as she slipped on some Adidas shoes and grabbed her purse before walking to the door. They walked across the street to where Scott´s truck was parked.

While Scott drove they talked about what they had been up to the last couple of days. It had been a while since they had seen each other. Scott learned that Tessa had spent the week at her family´s cottage with her mom, siblings and niece and Scott told Tessa that he had just spent some time unwinding with his family in Ilderton. He also caught her up on the shenanigans that went down during their guest performances for Stars on Ice. Tessa hadn´t really been paying attention to the landscape that flew by her window as they drove, so when Scott slowly brought his truck to a stop she had no idea where they were. All she could see out of her window was a vast, barren landscape.

“Ok, so you´re going to need to wait in here for 5 to 10 minutes while I set everything up, but no peeking. I don´t want this to be ruined,” Scott explained to her while he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Can you promise not to peek?” he asked her sternly.

“I can try but only if you don´t leave me waiting too long. The suspense is killing me,” Tessa joked back.

“Well, then I better get to work. Stay here beautiful, I´ll be right back,” Scott told her before jumping out of his door. Tessa blushed at his words and grabbed her phone to occupy herself and stop her from trying to peek.

10 minutes later there was a soft tap on the passenger window and then Scott opened the door.

“Finally,” Tessa sighed out in an exaggerated tone.

“Hey,” Scott looked back at her in mock offense. Tessa climbed out of the car and Scott took her hand and guided her round to the back of her truck. Tessa gasped at the sight in front of her and tightened her grip on Scott´s hand. Scott had filled the back of his truck with duvets and pillows and strung up and small chain of lights. There was also a small tray that contained what looked like snacks and drinks.

“This is so beautiful and amazing Scott,” Tessa said as she turned to face him. He beamed down at her.

“I´m glad you like it,” he smiled, “when I asked you on this date I had absolutely no clue what I was going to do and kind of started freaking out. I thought about just taking you to dinner and a movie but then I thought about how boring that is for a first date and tried to come up with something better. I guess this is still a movie and a bit of dinner but so much more. When it gets darker we will get some stars, we´re outside and we have nobody around to disturb us. It´s private we can watch a movie, we can talk, we can do whatever we want and nobody can comment or complain about it.” Scott explained. Tessa marvels at his thoughtfulness. From being his coach she knew he was passionate and hardworking but this is showing her a completely new side of him that she really likes.

She leans up a gives him a soft kiss on his cheek, “it´s amazing,” she emphasizes again.

Scott grabs her hand and slowly leads her towards the bed of the truck, “shall we?” he asks.

“Yes,” Tessa answers and climbs up into the truck and nestles into the pillows at the back. Scott joins her a moment later with two glasses of sparkling wine. He passes her one before turning to sit down beside her.

He lifts his glass slightly, “to a memorable evening and hopefully an even brighter future,” he toasts and Tessa clinks her glass to his in agreement.

“What movie is Cinema Moir showing?” Tessa asks after a sip of her drink.

“Well Miss Virtue, that is for you to decide. I have a couple movies available but the choice is all yours,” Scott answers grabbing his laptop and showing her the movies he had downloaded.

“Ohh, let´s watch Princess Bride, I love that movie,” Tessa exclaims when she sees the title amongst the downloads.

Scott selects the movie and presses play. He grabs the tray of food he had prepared and brings it closer before shuffling around so that Tessa his resting against the side of his body, his arm wrapped around her shoulder and hers around his waist.

* * *

 

When the movie is done, Scott manoeuvres himself so that he can close the laptop and move the tray of food out of the way so that the two of them have more space and can lie down and look up at the sky which has slowly begun to fill with sparkling stars.

He moves back into a lying down position and Tessa lays herself snuggled up next to his chest. They lay in comfortable silence for quite a while, Scott stroking Tessa´s arm.

“Thank you for tonight Scott,” Tessa says after a while, propping herself up so that she can look Scott in the eye. “This has been the best first date I have ever been on by far.” At that Scott smiles and Tessa can´t help but gently lean forward so that their noses are bumping.

“I mean it Scott, this made me feel so special and it showed me so much about you. Nobody has ever done anything this sweet for me.”

Scott doesn´t answer but just leans forward slightly and captures her lips with his. It´s a soft and gentle kiss, yet it is filled with so much emotion and passion. When they pull apart breathless, they are both spotting wide grins on their faces.

“A woman as special as you Tess should be made feel like this and I hope that I can continue to give you this for as long as you want me to.” He leans back in a kisses her with more passion.

When they part this time Tessa lays her head back down on his chest and feels how fast his heart is beating. Absentmindedly she starts gently stroking her hand over his abdomen, feeling his rigid muscles. “Thank you,” she just whispers before they fall into silence.

They lie together for quite a while looking at the stars before Scott strikes up conversation again and they end up talking and laughing about everything and nothing. Tessa has never felt this comfortable with anyone and she attributes it to the man she is sitting with in a truck in a field somewhere in the middle of Ontario.

When Tessa begins to yawn a few times Scott checks the time and realizes that is already nearly one a.m.

“We should slowly head back, don´t you think?” he asks her.

“I really don´t want this to end but yeah we probably should,” Tessa sighs.

They climb out of the bed of the truck and Scott quickly tidies everything up. When he´s sure everything is stored away, he walks around to the front where Tessa is leaning against the car watching the stars. He silently slots himself beside her.

“It´s so beautiful,” she whispers.

“Yeah it is,” Scott replies but he isn´t looking at the stars. Tessa turn her body to face him and blushes.

Scott wraps his arms around her waist pulling her closer.

“I´ve had the best time tonight T and most of that is because I spent it with you. You´re so amazing and I love spending time with you. Yeah we see each other at work every day but the time we spend outside the rink is always amazing. This may have only been the first date, but I hope to spend many more with you.”

Tessa nods and presses her forehead to his.

“So before we leave here tonight, I have a question for you. A couple weeks ago in Marseille I told you I have feelings for you. And tonight has only made those feelings stronger and I hope and pray that you somewhat feel the same way. So without further ado, Tessa Jane McCormick Virtue, will you be my girlfriend?”

Tessa smiles before leaning in and fusing their lips together. It´s a heated kiss with passion and tongue. Tessa pulls away, “yes I´ll be your girlfriend, if you´ll be my boyfriend.”

“There´s nothing I would rather be,” Scott says with a big smile and leans in to kiss her again.

* * *

 

On the drive back Scott never once lets go of Tessa´s hand. When he pulls up to Tessa´s house he hops out and scurries over to open her door for her and walks her up to her front door.

Tessa places a hand on his chest, “I really loved tonight Scott. I cannot thank you enough for it.”

“I really enjoyed tonight too,” Scott agrees, “no need to thank me, just agree that we can repeat that and spend more time together in the future,” he smiles looking into her eyes.

“I can definitely agree and promise that. I already feel like I want to spend all my time with you. But the rational part of me is telling me that we need to take it slow and maybe sit down at some point and talk about us and our relationship.” Tessa tells him honestly.

“I agree. Maybe in the next couple of days so that we can spend more time together before the season starts and work on building a solid foundation for us,” Scott suggests.

“Yeah that would be great,” Tessa smiles and leans in to kiss him softly.

They stand on her porch just kissing for a while before Scott pulls away, “I´m going to be a gentleman and leave you now so that you can go get some sleep,” he says and kisses her one last time, “Text me when you wake up and we can figure out our next date,” he says pulling away and slowly walking back towards his car.

“Goodnight Scott,” Tessa says softly.

“Sweet dreams Tessa Jane,” Scott replies with a smile that transfers onto Tessa´s face before she disappears into her house and Scott climbs back into his truck and drives back to his house before crashing into bed with a wide grin plastered to his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you think!   
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated and keep me motivated to write more, if that is what people want.  
> Hopefully I won´t need as long for the next chapter as I did for this one.

**Author's Note:**

> What do you guys think?  
> I have quite a few ideas for this fic and hope that I will be able to satisfy you readers. Feel free to leave any suggestions in the comments.  
> I hope to update this fic regularly but school and life are bound to get in the way so forgive me if there are some longer pauses and believe me that I am working hard on the next chapters already.
> 
> Comments and Kudos are appreciated.


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